Reclosable container



Nov. 19, 1963 J. D. BOSTROM RECLOSABLE CONTAINER Filed Jan. 18, 1962 INVENTOR:

LD OSTROM JOHN D ATT'YS United States Patent Oiiice '3,ili,22 Patented Nov. 19, 1963 3,111,22i9 RECLOSABLE CONTAINER John Donald Rostrum, Niles, 11L, assignor to Foster Packaging, Inc, Chicago, EL, a corporation of Delaware Filed Jan. 18, 1962, Ser. No. 167,039 7 Claims. (Cl. 206-47) This invention relates to a capsule package wherein individual capsules are retained securely and yet are easily accessible and more particularly to a package which is especially useful as a prescription container.

In hospitals, especially when there may be two or more patients in the same room, prescriptions are often misplaced or confused and not given to those for whom they are intended because an effective package for holding and denoting the prescriptions is not available.

Individual capsules placed on a table are left to collect germs or fall to the floor and are free to be taken by the wrong patient. The present capsule or pill containers are lacking in that they do not provide for the thorough and exact notation of the prescription, or in that the top of the container may become separated from the bottom, exposing the capsule to germs and allowing the capsules, if the container is jarred or overturned, to escape their container.

One object of this invention is to provide a capsule container which will allow the patient and those caring for him to know the capsule prescription exactly at all times.

Another object is to provide a new and improved package, one having an internally united top and bottom and an eflective means for securing this top and bottom, for capsules or pills that might otherwise lie loose on a table and either fall to the floor, be taken by the wrong patient, or become mixed with other pills and capsules that are not required.

A further object of the invention is to provide a new and improved simple type of capsule container which is inexpensive and easy to manufacture.

Other objects and advantages of the invention will ap pear from the following description in conjunction with the accompanying drawing, in which;

FIGURE 1 is a perspective view of the capsule package and accompanying sheet, the package being closed and inserted within the hole provided in the sheet;

FIGURE 2 is a perspective view of the capsule package and accompanying sheet of FIGURE 1, the package beirlilg open and removed from the hole provided in the s eet;

FIGURE 3 is a cross sectional view taken along the line 3-3 of FIGURE 1; and

FIGURE 4 is a plan View of the open capsule package.

As shown in the drawings, the invention provides a capsule package comprising a bottom having recesses therein adapted to receive capsules, said bottom having upwardly and inwardly extending sides oflset outwardly from the tops of said sides, and a top cover having a recess therein the sides of which extend downwardly and outwardly and engage said upwardly and inwardly extending sides of said bottom, said top cover having a flange extending outwardly from the top of said recess and contacting said flange of said bottom.

In FTGURE l a capsule package 1 and the accompanying self-sustaining sheet 2 provided in accordance with the present invention are shown, the capsule package 1 being in a closed position.

The capsule package 1 consists of a top cover 3 and a bottom 4. The top cover 3 has a recess 5, the sides 6 of which extend downwardly and outwardly, and a flange 7 which extends outwardly from the tops of the sides 6 and which surrounds the recess 5. The bottom 4 has a recess 8 similar to the recess 5 in the top cover 3, the sides 9 of recess 8 extending upwardly and inwardly, and a flange 10 which extends outwardly from the tops of sides 9 and surrounds the recess 3. In the floor 11 of the recess 8 are a number of further recesses 12 adapted to hold capsules.

The top cover 3 and the bottom 4 are part of a single piece of material, one edge '13 of the flange 7 being joined to one edge 14 of the flange It} by a hinge-like groove 15 thereby allowing the top cover 3 to be folded over and to secure the bottom 4 by allowing the recess 5 to engage the recess 8 so that the floor to of the recess 5 contacts the floor 11 of recess '8, the sides 6 contact the sides 9, and the flange 7 contacts the flange 10. Thus, the top and bottom of the container are united as part of a single piece having a groove therein extending between the top and the bottom and forming a hinge to permit the package to be opened and closed repeatedly.

A portion 17 of the flange It is removed from an area of the flange 19, preferably at a corner 18. Similarly, a portion 19 of the flange 7 is removed in a different area of the flange 7, preferably near the corner 18 chosen for the removal of portion 17 to facilitate opening the package.

The self-sustaining sheet 2 allows both suflicient and convenient room for a prescription or message and has in it a hole 26 so cut as to securely engage the sides 9 just below the flange 10 of the capsule package 1. Though amply secured within the hole 24 the capsule package 1 may be easily removed from the secured position because of the resiliency of the material used.

The material preferably used for such a capsule package is a transparent rapid-recovery plastic sheet material such as, for example, oriented polystyrene. This type of material is readily molded by vacuum forming and other techniques. It is self-sustainin=g, relatively rigid, resilient and distortable. However, when distorted, it can be pressed back into its original form.

It will be recognized that various other sizes and shapes of package and sheet may be employed depending upon convenience and the conditions at hand. Larger or smaller packages may be made to accommodate more or fewer capsules. The package need not be rectangular but may be circular, naturally allowing a straight section for the hinge.

In addition, if so preferred, there need be no sheet or holder for the capsule package. The prescription or message may be placed on a card or label and secured within the recess 5 of the top cover.

The invention is hereby claimed as follows:

1. A container comprising a bottom having a space adapted to receive articles, said bottom having upwardly and inwardly extending sides offset outwardly by the provision of an outwardly extending flange in the vicinity of adjacent the top of said space and having a marginal flange extending outwardly from the tops of said sides, and a top cover having a recess therein the sides of which extend downwardly and outwardly and engage said upwardly and inwardly extending sides of said bottom as well as the flange in the vicinity of the top of said space, said top cover having a flange extending outwardly from the top of said recess and contacting said flange of said bottom.

2. A container comprising a bottom having a space adapted to receive articles, said bottom having upwardly and inwardly extending sides offset outwardly by the provision of an outwardly extending flange in the vicinity of adjacent the top of said space and having a marginal flange extending outwardly from the top of said sides, and a top cover having a recess therein the sides of which extend downwardly and outwardly and engage said up- 3 wardly and inwardly extending sides of said bottom as well as the flange in the vicinity of the top of said space, said top cover having a flange extending outwardly from the top of said recess and contacting said flange of said bottom, said top and said bottom being integral along a pair of adjacent overlying margins of said top and said bottom to form a hinge to permit the package to be opened and closed repeatedly.

3. A capsule package formed from a rapid recovery plastic comprising a bottom having recesses therein adapted to receive capsules, said bottom having upwardly and inwardly extending sides ofiset outwardly from the tops of said recesses and having a marginal flange extending outwardly from the tops of said sides, and a top cover having a recess therein the sides of which extend downwardly and outwardly and engage said upwardly and inwardly extending sides of said bottom, said top cover having a flange extending outwardly from the top of said recess and contacting said flange of said bottom, said top and said bottom being united as part of a single piece having a groove therein extending between the top and the bottom and forming a hinge to permit the package to be opened and closed repeatedly.

4. A capsule package comprising a bottom having recesses therein adapted to receive capsules, said bottom having upwardly and inwardly extending sides offset outwardly from the tops of said recesses and having a marginal flange extending outwardly from the tops of said sides, a top cover having a recess therein the sides of which extend downwardly and outwardly and engage said upwardly and inwardly extending sides of said bottom, said top cover having a flange extending outwardly from the top of said recess and contacting said flange of said bottom, and at least one part of said top and bottom flange portions being removed to permit the opposing flange portion to be gripped by the fingers.

5. A capsule package comprising a bottom having recesses therein adapted to receive capsules, said bottom having upwardly and inwardly extending sides offset outwardly from the tops of said recesses and having a marginal flange extending outwardly from the tops of said sides, and a top cover having a recess therein the sides of which extend downwardly and outwardly and engage said upwardly and inwardly extending sides of said bottom, said top cover having a flange extending outwardly from the top of said recess and contacting said flange of isaid bottom, a part of the flange portion of the top being removed in one area to permit the flange portion of the bottom to be gripped by the fingers, and a part of the flange portion of the bottom being removed in a difierent area to permit the flange portion of the top to be gripped by the fingers.

6. A capsule package comprising a bottom having recesses therein adapted to receive capsules, said bottom having upwardly and inwardly extending sides offset outwardly from the tops of said recesses and having a marginal flange extending outwardly from the tops of said sides, and a top cover having a recess therein the sides of which extend downwardly and outwardly and engage said upwardly and inwardly extending sides of said bottom, said top cover having a flange extending outwardly from the top of said recess and contacting said flange of said bottom, a part of the flange portion of the top being removed in an intermediate portion of one side to permit the flange portion of the bottom to be gripped by the fingers, and a part of the flange portion of the bottom being removed at an adjoining corner to permit the flange portion of the top to be gripped by the fingers at said corner.

7. A capsule package comprising a bottom having recesses therein adapted to receive capsules, said bottom having upwardly and inwardly extending sides offset outwardly from the tops of said recesses and having a marginal flange extending outwardly from the tops of said sides, a top cover having a recess therein the sides of which extend downwardly and outwardly and engage said upwardly and inwardly extending sides of said bottom, said top cover having a flange extending outwardly from the top of said recess and contacting said flange of said bottom, and a flat self-sustaining sheet material having a hole therein the sides of which engage said bottom just below said flange of said bottom.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,816,542 Mellin July 28, 1931 2,777,570 Mytinger Jan. 15, 1957 2,915,214 Frankel Dec. 1, 1959 2,992,501 Douglas July 18, 1961 FOREIGN PATENTS 1,159,055 France Feb. 3, 1958 

3. A CAPSULE PACKAGE FORMED FROM A RAPID RECOVERY PLASTIC COMPRISING A BOTTOM HAVING RECESSES THEREIN ADAPTED TO RECEIVE CAPSULES, SAID BOTTOM HAVING UPWARDLY AND INWARDLY EXTENDING SIDES OFFSET OUTWARDLY FROM THE TOPS OF SAID RECESSES AND HAVING A MARGINAL FLANGE EXTENDING OUTWARDLY FROM THE TOPS OF SAID SIDES, AND A TOP COVER HAVING A RECESS THEREIN THE SIDES OF WHICH EXTEND DOWNWARDLY AND OUTWARDLY AND ENGAGE SAID UPWARDLY AND INWARDLY EXTENDING SIDES OF SAID BOTTOM, SAID TOP COVER HAVING A FLANGE EXTENDING OUTWARDLY FROM THE TOP OF SAID RECESS AND CONTACTING SAID FLANGE OF SAID BOTTOM, SAID TOP AND SAID BOTTOM BEING UNITED AS PART OF A SINGLE PIECE HAVING A GROOVE THEREIN EXTENDING BETWEEN THE TOP AND THE BOTTOM AND FORMING A HINGE TO PERMIT THE PACKAGE TO BE OPENED AND CLOSED REPEATEDLY. 